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The Cure for Exhaustion? More Exercise

When a person is sapped by fatigue, the last thing he or she wants to do is exercise. But new research shows that regular, low-intensity exercise may help boost energy levels in people suffering from fatigue.

Fatigue is one of the most common health symptoms and can be a sign of a variety of medical problems. However, about one in four people suffers from general fatigue not associated with a serious medical condition.

University of Georgia researchers decided to study whether exercise can be used to treat fatigue. The research, which appears in the February issue of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, involved 36 volunteers who were not regular exercisers but who complained of persistent fatigue.

One group of fatigued volunteers was prescribed 20 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise three times a week for six weeks. The second group engaged in low-intensity aerobic exercise for the same time period, while a third control group did not exercise.

The study volunteers used exercise bikes that allowed the researchers to control their level of exertion. The low-intensity exercise was equivalent to a leisurely, easy walk. The more intense exercise was similar to a fast-paced walk up hills. Patients with fatigue due to serious medical conditions, such as those with chronic fatigue syndrome, weren’t included in the study.

Both of the exercise groups had a 20 percent increase in energy levels by the end of the study, compared to the control group. However, the researchers found that more intense exercise isn’t the best way to reduce fatigue. The low-intensity group reported a 65 percent drop in feelings of fatigue, compared to a 49 percent drop in the group doing more intense exercise.

“Too often we believe that a quick workout will leave us worn out — especially when we are already feeling fatigued,” said researcher Tim Puetz, in a news release. Dr. Puetz recently completed his doctorate at the university and is the lead author of the study. “However, we have shown that regular exercise can actually go a long way in increasing feelings of energy — particularly in sedentary individuals.”

Why exercise helps fatigue isn’t clear, but Dr. Puetz said his findings suggest exercise acts directly on the central nervous system to increase energy and reduce fatigue. Notably, the improvements in energy and fatigue were not related to increases in aerobic fitness.

“A lot of people are overworked and not sleeping enough,” said Patrick O’Connor, co-director of the university’s exercise psychology laboratory, in the release. “Exercise is a way for people to feel more energetic. There’s a scientific basis for it, and there are advantages to it compared to things like caffeine and energy drinks.”

I’ve noticed that exercise (usually a 35-minute run or a 90-minute yoga class) improves my energy level and mental clarity during the day and also helps me to sleep better at night. Any evidence for energy “cycles” regulated by exercise?

The most important question to ask is, which people within the exercise groups benefitted and which did not? Did some people feel less fatigue, while others had no response? And, if so, what are the differences between responders and non responders in the exercising groups? The model used in Chinese medicine may provide some insight. Fatigue essentially breaks down into two categories- those who have too little energy, and those whose energy is stuck (stagnant) and unavailable to them. The stagnant type of fatigue would respond to exercise, as the physical movement gets the previously unavailable energy moving and available. The deficient (too little) energy people would not improve with exercise. In fact, the deficient group might become worse due to the consumption of energy that is already too little. This might explain the less desirable response in the higher intensity exercise group compared to the lower intensity exercise group. It would be wonderful to see these questions answered so that physicians could know which patient should exercise more, and which one should get more rest. Studies like this are interesting, but would be much more useful if we asked the correct questions.

After having a stent put in a few years ago, I began
an exercise program that consists of nothing more
than walking 4 miles on a treadmill before breakfast and two or three miles during the day. I found that
on the days that I omit the morning walk, I feel
rather slugish and tired all day. But after the
morning exercise, I feel peppy most of the day.
Warning-do not exercise before going to bed. It
makes you keyed up.

I was fortunate to make this counter-intuitive discovery on my own back in my 20’s. Working repetitive physical jobs at the time, I’d come home feeling like the couch was the only place for me.

In a paroxysm of self-discipline, I decided to go for a run instead. Incredibly, I would feel so much better afterwards. Ever since, my personal lexicon equates “fatigue” with something totally different from true exhaustion. Maybe one day, we’ll know why. My theory says it has something to do with repetitive use of the same muscles over and over during our typical work days–even if that just means sitting in an office chair.

Since when is the chronic fatigue syndrome a serious medical condition?I never heard of anyone dying from it Many experts in the field think it’a a form of depression.If anybody should exercise,that group should.
Martin

From my own experience I would have to say that while exercise may help some it will not help all.

I have felt sort of constantly tired and slightly drained of energy since I entered puberty about 13 years ago. I do exercise regularly, walking to work several times a week, more than a mile each way.

I do get a buzz of energy after my walk and feel energized for part of the day but then later my energy plummets again and I’m left feeling tired all over again.

I don’t know if I have a medical condition to explain this, I’ve never been diagnosed with one. I will keep exercising because I do like it, I just know that it won’t completely relieve my fatigue.

Having a regular exercise program does loads for my energy level. It’s just a matter of overcoming the inertia if I get out of the habit. If I’ve been exercising regularly, I’ll come home from work, grab the gym bag, and head out. If I’ve gone a week or so without the gym, I have to take the gym bag to work with me, and stop there before I go to the house, or I won’t make it.

I sleep better, wake up more refreshed, and feel generally perkier (which frightens my co-workers, who think I’m already quite perky enough, thanks!) when I’m about a week into the every-other-day gym habit.

#3 has it right. People are fatigued for a REASON. Often multiple reasons at the same time, actually.

Stuck energy, due to being constipated or stressed or being busy and eating a lot of calories but never getting any exercise—this can benefit from exercise and, usually, dietary changes. Eliminate the junk.

But fatigue due to undiagnosed low thyroid function, undiagnosed infections, etc—this will not improve much.

The confusion comes because often people have one from paragraph one, one from paragraph two as well.

And then when they don’t exercise, because they’re fatigued, they DO get even more fatigued because they’re so decompensated and atrophied.

The solution isn’t to flog people into exercise in all cases and make them feel self-conscious and guilty if they don’t do it.

The solution is to spend a lot of time with the person and discern—-it’s called DIAGNOSING! through clinical history, something doctors hardly do anymore—-the true cause or causes of the fatigue. And treat it **adequately**.

A close friend of mine has had CLL for 20 years, and one of the prime symptoms of her disease is profound fatigue. She battles fatigue with brisk walking almost daily, and on the days she cannot hike her energy sinks. The workout works!

The point of the article isn’t that exercise reduces fatigue. It’s that LOW INTENSITY exercise is actually better than moderate or high-intensity exercise for a sedentary person. This is not running, not even jogging. This is a leisurely 20 minute walk. And the point is that feeling tired isn’t an excuse for not going for a leisurely 20 minute stroll.

My experience is that when I feel exhausted I may well be short of sleep and thus physically and mentally fatigued. But it usually turns out that the feeling of exhaustion, rather than tiredness, is from stress, anxiety, resentment, or other negative feelings. This is exactly what exercise is widely found to alleviate. And what this study is saying is that you don’t have to exercise to the point where you get an endorphin rush in order to reap the benefits.

I know this sort of thing makes the more judgmental folks mad, because they think the rest of us are bad people for not being jocks. But I hope some get encouragement from the article to just move around a little. I find that even when I’m exhausted and think I can’t possibly spare a couple of minutes to do this, it turns out that the little bit of movement helps me work smarter when I get back.

This is the truth! Now, let’s get employers to make allowances for employees to take a lunch time exercise break. And let’s put and end to people bragging that they work thorough lunch! No wonder they are literally sick and tired!.

It’s important to consider the role of psychological/emotional factors in this study. Fatigue is experienced physically, cognitively and emotionally. I think that the discipline of regular exercise changes the way we think about ourselves and our ability to be self effective. Perhaps we reset our beliefs, thoughts and mental images in a way that alters our perception of fatigue.

To all the people who have nice, well behaved toddlers: great, that’s your kid. I have known and dealt with enough toddlers to know that, like people in general, they’re all individual. Some are angels and some are monsters. Even in the same family, and even if they get treated about the same. True, some are kids of neurotic parents who do things that provoke and encourage meltdowns, but many are not. They’re just that way, and they’re going to have tantrums regardless of who handles them.